In the world of elite sports, where physical prowess and technical skills are often seen as the primary drivers of success, the Australian Stingers have shown that something more profound can propel a team to greatness: their values. Despite their recent loss to Spain in the final, the Stingers walked away with a hard-earned silver medal, their heads held high, not just because of their performance in the pool, but because they stayed true to the values that underpin everything they do.
The Stingers’ Core Values: The Foundation of Success
The Stingers, Australia’s national women’s water polo team, attribute their success to a set of core values that have been carefully cultivated and embraced by every team member. These values include:
Resilience: The ability to recover from setbacks and continue fighting, as demonstrated in their match against Spain.
Unity: A commitment to working together as a cohesive unit, supporting one another through every challenge.
Respect: For each other, for their opponents, and for the game itself, ensuring that they play with integrity and sportsmanship.
Excellence: Striving for the highest standards in all aspects of their training and competition.
These values are more than just words on a page; they are lived and breathed by the team. They guide decision-making, foster a strong team culture, and provide a shared sense of purpose that binds the players together, creating a formidable force in the water.
Translating Values into the Workplace
What can businesses and organisations learn from the Stingers’ approach? The answer is clear: values are not just for sports teams. They are the base of any successful organisation. Whether you’re leading a small business, a corporate team, or a not-for-profit, establishing and living by a set of core values can transform your workplace culture and drive sustained success.
Resilience in Business: Just as the Stingers demonstrate resilience in their matches, businesses that cultivate resilience can navigate the inevitable challenges and setbacks they face. This involves fostering a mindset that sees challenges as opportunities for growth and encouraging teams to support each other during tough times.
Unity and Team Cohesion: In the same way that the Stingers’ unity strengthens their performance, a workplace where employees are united by shared values and a common purpose will see improved collaboration, communication, and overall productivity. Unity in values creates a strong organisational culture that can withstand pressures from both within and outside the company.
Respect and Integrity: Respect is a value that underpins trust and collaboration in any workplace. When employees respect one another and uphold integrity in their actions, it creates a positive work environment where people feel valued and are more likely to contribute their best efforts.
Striving for Excellence: Like the Stingers, businesses should continually strive for excellence. This doesn’t mean perfection, but rather a commitment to ongoing improvement, innovation, and the pursuit of high standards in all operations.
Harrisons’ Values: A Model for Success
At Harrisons, we understand the power of values in driving success. Our own values of Back the Team, Delight the Client, and Act with Integrity reflect our commitment to building a supportive, client-focused, and ethical workplace. These values guide every decision we make and every interaction we have, ensuring that our clients receive the highest level of service and that our team operates with honesty and respect.
Back the Team: We believe in the strength of collaboration and mutual support, much like the Stingers’ unity. By backing each other, we create a positive and productive work environment where everyone can thrive.
Delight the Client: Our clients are at the heart of everything we do. We strive not just to meet their expectations but to exceed them, ensuring that they feel valued and supported at every step.
Act with Integrity: Integrity is the cornerstone of our operations. We conduct our business with honesty, transparency, and respect, fostering trust and long-term relationships with our clients and partners.
Implementing Values: Beyond Words
However, identifying and articulating values is only the first step. The true challenge lies in embedding these values into the daily practices and behaviours of your organisation. This is where our Values and Behaviours Workshops come into play.
Our workshops are designed to facilitate the identification of your organisation’s unique values through storytelling—an approach that helps your team connect personally with the values and understand their importance. We then guide you in defining the “above the line” and “below the line” behaviours that align with these values, ensuring that they are not just abstract concepts but actionable principles that drive day-to-day decision-making and behaviour.
The success of the Stingers is a powerful reminder that values are not just for show—they are the driving force behind sustained success, whether in sports or in business. By embracing resilience, unity, respect, and excellence, and by embedding these values into the fabric of your organisation, you can create a workplace culture that not only achieves its goals but does so with integrity and purpose.
At Harrisons, we’ve seen firsthand how our values of Back the Team, Delight the Client, and Act with Integrity contribute to our success. We invite you to join us in one of our Values and Behaviours Workshops to start your journey toward a values-driven workplace. Together, we can help your team define, understand, and live by the values that will drive your success, just as they have for the Australian Stingers.
Claire Harrison is the Founder and Managing Director of Harrisons, a flourishing HR consulting business that sprouted in 2009 from Claire’s passionate belief that inspiring leaders and superstar employees are the key success factor to any business. With over 20 years’ experience, Claire has worked as a HR Director of multi-national organisations, as a Non-Executive Board Director, and a small business owner. Claire’s corporate career includes working with companies such as BHP, Westpac, Fonterra and Mayne Nickless.
